Mineral cutting machines



June 30, 1970 T @CLARKE lET AL 3,517,967

l MINERAL CUTTING MACHINES Filed DGO. 26. 1967 3 SlmoLS-Shcut 1 June 3o,1970 T G, CLARKE ET AL 3,517,967

MINERAL CUTTING MACHINES Flc-3 2.

June 30, 1970 T. QLARKE EF'AL 3,517,967

MINERAL CUTTING MACHINES 3 Shoots-Shout I5 Filed Dec. 26, 1967 UnitedStates Patent 3,517,967 Patented June 30, 1970 Int. Cl. E21c 25/16 U.S.Cl. 299-51 t 5 Claims ABSTRACT oF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for cuttingmineral comprising a horizontally mounted shaft, a vertically mountedshaft, means for rotatingsaid shaft, a first circular cutting meansmounted at each end of said vertically mounted shaft, a second circularcutting means mounted at one end of said horizontally mounted shaft,hardened cutting teeth provided on said rst and second circular cuttingmeans being in juxta-position so as to cut two horizontal and onevertical cut of mineral, milling means provided on said horizontal shaftalong at least that portion of said shaft which in use, enters a mineralface so as to cut therethrough during movement of the apparatus relativeto the mineral face to afford a passage through such mineralfor the saidshaft during cutting. t

This invention is concerned with mineral cutting machines.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide apparatus for thecutting of mineral in underground mine `workings `where the mineral isto be mined according to the so called long wall system of mineralextraction. With this object in mind the invention comprises apparatusfor cutting mineral comprising a horizontally mounted shaft, means forrotating said shaft, a first circular cutting means mounted at each endof said vertically mounted shaft, a second circular cutting meansmounted at one end of said horizontally mounted shaft, hardened cuttingteeth provided onsaid first and second circular cutting means being injuxtaposition so as to cut two horizontal and one vertical cut ofmineral.

It is known to provide machines for the cutting of coal in undergroundmine workings which consist of a horizontal shaft having means forrotating said shaft `and which shaft is provided with a drum or the likeon which aremounted a plurality of pick boxes, such that picks with ahardened tip may be mounted in the boxes. On rotation of the shaft thepicks enter the coal and tear the coal away from the seam.

With such machines the size of the lumps of coal extracted tends to besmall due to the tearing and crushing action of the picks themselves. Itis therefore `a further object of the present invention to provide coalcutting machinery which will enable pieces of coal of comparativelylarge size to be `extracted from the seam and also to reduce the extentof fragmentation of the coal into small particles and into dust. This isachieved by providing the `aforementioned apparatus with milling meansalong at least that portion of the horizontal shaft which in use, entersa mineral shaft so as to cut therethrough during movement of theapparatus relative to the mineral face to afford a passage through suchmineral for the said shaft during cutting. Said milling means comprisesa plurality of milling cutters, `the cutting` length of each cutterbeing less than the lengthof the circular cutting means mounted on theend of said horizontal shaft.

Conveniently the invention provides apparatus which may be moved alongthe face of a long wall seam on a panzer conveyor in `known manner andwith a motor for rotation of the shafts in the machine. Conveniently themotor drives a horizontal shaft which may be geared fil through suitablegears to a horizontal shaft mounted in suitable bearings and having, atthe end which enters into the coal seam a vertically rotatable saw orcoal cutting disc, said disc being provided with diamond impregnatedteeth. The horizontal shaft drives through appropriate gears a verticalshaft also mounted in suitable bearings, which vertical shaft hassimilar coal cutting discs at each end thereof. Means may be providedfor the passage of water to the centre of the discs so that the water isexpelled by the peripheral speed of the discs to reduce the amount ofdust and to assist in the cutting of the coal. To achieve this objectthe shafts or part thereof may be provided with a hollow bore forforming a duct for the passage of water. The horizontal shaft isconveniently provided with milling cutters or such like between the discitself and that part of the machinery which enters into the coal seam soas to form a passageway through the coal for the shaft itself. Thevertically mountedshaft conveniently passes along the coal face in frontof the seam so that the horizontally rotating cutting discs having acutting `arc of approximately while the vertically mounted cutting dischas a cutting arc of approximately In order that the present inventionmay be more readily understood reference` will now be made to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional plan View of apparatus accordingto the presentinvention,

FIG. 2 is a part sectional side view,

`FIG. 3 is a schematic end view of apparatus according to the presentinvention when located in an underground mlne,

FIG. 4 is a part sectional detail view of a milling cutter according tothe present invention,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of a cutting disc according to thisinvention.

Referring rstly to FIGS. 1 and 2, a fabricated casing 1 of substantiallyrectangular form is provided with a fabricated extension portion 2conveniently of sheet steel. Inside the casing 1 an electric motor 9 ismounted which drives a driving shaft 3 having at its end a bevel gear 11mounted on a horizontally rotating shaft 4. The rotating shaft 4 ismounted in a bearing 14i in the casing 1 and in a bearing 3 in theextension casing 2. The shaft 4 has a pinion 12 meshing with a pinion 13to drive a hydraulic pump 15 connected through tubes 16 to a hydraulicmotor 17. The hydraulic motor 17 drives through a chain or belt 8 apulley 20 which acts in conjunction with a non-driven pulley 19 on arope or chain 21 to haul the apparatus along the panzer conveyor inknown manner.

Alternatively the machine may be self propelled independent of fixedlines or the like. Desira-bly the machine has cut out means whichprevent advance of the machine when said cut out means are activated.The shaft 4 also carries a helical gear 22 meshing with a helical gear30 on a vertically mounted shaft 5. Exteriorly of the extension casing 2and at the end of the shaft 4 is a cutting disc 26 vmounted for rotationin a vertical plane. The cutting disc 26 has hardened cutting teeth 27on its peripheral edges. Between the exterior surface of the extensioncasing Zand `the cutting disc 26,` there is a long milling cutter 24 ora plurality of milling cutters 24. The cutting disc 26 is secured to theshaft 4 with the assistance of a bush 25 which if desired is providedwith peripheral cutting edges. The end of the shaft 4 is y threaded andthe bush 25 is screwed thereon. The bush 25 is provided with a number ofholes parallel to the centre axis `and spaced in a circle through whichholes bolts 31 may `extend through the disc 26 and into the bush 25. Oneface of the bush 25 is conveniently recessed to accommodate nuts 32which secure the disc 26 to the bush 25. The vertically mounted shaft 5is provided with a cutting disc 28 at its lower end and a disc 28a atits upper end. The cutting disc 28 and 28a are of form similar to thecutting disc 26 and are provided with hardened cutting teeth 27. Themanner of mounting and securing the cutting discs 28 and 28a to theshaft 5 is substantially the same as that described with reference tcutting disc 26 on shaft 4.

The cutting discs illustrated in greater detail in FIG. consists of adisc portion 28 having teeth formed therein by the formation of U-shapedcut-outs 35. The teeth are formed to the depth shown at 45 and then havesecured to the outer peripheral edge of the disc a hardened surface 27which conveniently is in the form of a diamond impregnated matrix.Specifically the matrix consists of diamonds of grit size between 25/36and 5%() distributed as to approximately at 4 carats per cubiccentimetre. The matrix in which the diamonds are bended is convenientlya bronze matrix.

The milling cutters 24, which are pushed onto the shaft 4 and fixed inany suitable manner are illustrated more particularly in FIG. 4 andconsists of a central portion having a bore to enable the cutter 24 tobe pushed onto the shaft 4 and provided with radial cutting lingers 39having hardened portions 40 which may be of tungsten carbide or, ifdesired, a diamond impregnated matrix may be brazed to each finger 39 inknown manner.

Radial ducts 37 are formed in the cutters 24 leading outwards from anannular groove 41 which communicates with a longitudinal groove 36formed in that portion of the shaft 4 over which the cutters extend. Thelongitudinal groove 36 communicates, through a radial passageway 38formed in the shaft 4, with a central longitudinal duct 48 which extendspartway of the length of the shaft 4 from the end at which the cuttingdisc 26 is mounted. The duct 48 is in communication with a water inlet 7formed in a gland sleeve 6 (FIG. 2). The sleeve 6 surrounds the shaft 4and is provided with glands at either end thereof so that water pipesconnected to the inlet 7 enable water to be fed from said inlet 7 intothe duct 48 and thence to the radial ducts 37. As the shaft 4 rotatesand the milling cutters 24 rotate the cool water passing along shaft 4is ejected in advance of the cutting portions 40 to suppress coal dustand to remove slurry from the cutting edges.

The duct 48 extends to the end of the Shaft 4 and is there provided witha frusto-conical portion which terminates in the centre of the cuttingdisc 26 with inclined radially extending apertures so that wateremerging at the end of the duct 48 is fed on the outer face of thecutting disc 26 and thence to the peripheral edge thereof by therotational speed of cutting disc 26. A similar gland sleeve 34 issecured to the shaft 5 which shaft 5 has a longitudinal duct 49extending the whole length thereof so that water is fed to the outersurface of both cutting discs 28 and 28a in similar manner (FIG. l).

The apparatus according to the present invention may =be used in aquarry or an underground mine working (see FIG. 3) which has a coal seam43 and with a roof 43a and a oor 43b. A panzer conveyor 42 isconveniently located parallel to the seam 43.

According to the present invention the casing 1 is provided with meansfor engagement with the conveyor 42 to enable the casing to move alongthe length of the conveyor 42. The hydraulic motor 17 enables the casing1 to 'be pulled along the length of the conveyor 42. The extensioncasing 2 extends on the face side of the panzer conveyor 42 and thecutting disc 26 rotating in a vertical plane has approximately 180 ofarc of cut into the seam 43 while the upper cutting disc 28a, rotatingin a substantially horizontal plane has approximately 90 of arc of cutinto the roof 43a of the seam. Similarly the lower cutting disc 28 hasapproximately 90 of arc of cut into lower portion of the seam 43.

It is thought that apparatus according to the present invention enablescoal to be cut from a long Wall seam in such a manner that large piecesof coal may be extracted without fragmentation therefrom.

The recovery of the coal after cutting is according to known techniquesin the art of mining coal which involve the movement of a plough or thelike to pick up the coal and transfer it to means for conveying the coalalong the roadway and thence to the surface of the mine.

Desirably a plough like member is inserted into the cut made by disc 26to cleave the coal away from the seam and thus to minimize thelikelihood of the cut closing in and the disc becoming jammed.

It is thought that the present invention provides an improved apparatusand method for the extraction of minerals particularly coal.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for cutting mineral comprising a horizontally mountedshaft, a vertically mounted shaft, means for rotating said shafts andfor moving said shafts horizontally through said mineral, a firstcircular cutting means mounted at each end of said vertically mountedshaft, a second circular cutting means mounted at one end of saidhorizontally mounted shaft, a multiplicity of cutting members providedon the periphery of said first and second circular cutting means, saidcutting members having a hardened cutting surface, at least a portion ofwhtich is substantially circumferential about said circular cuttingmeans, said cutting means being in juxta-position so as to cut twohorizontal and one vertical cut of mineral.

2. Apparatus for cutting mineral comprising a horizontally mountedshaft, a vertically mounted shaft, means for rotating said shafts andfor moving said shafts horizontally through said mineral, a rst circularcutting means mounted at each end of said vertically mounted shaft, asecond circular cutting means mounted at one end of said horizontallymounted shaft, a multiplicity of cutting members provided on theperiphery of said rst and second circular cutting means, said cuttingmembers having a hardened cutting surface, at least a portion of whichis substantially circumferential about said circular cutting means, saidcutting means being in juxtaposition so as to cut two horizontal and onevertical cut of mineral, milling means provided on said horizontal shaftalong at least that portion of said shaft which in use, enters a mineralface so as to cut therethrough during movement of the apparatus relativeto the mineral face to afford a passage through such mineral for thesaid shaft during cutting.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said milling means comprisesa plurality of milling cutters the cutting length of each cutter beingless than the cutting length of the circular cutting means mounted onthe end of said horizontal shaft.

4. Apparatus for cutting mineral comprising a horizontally mountedshaft, a vertically mounted shaft, means for rotating said shafts andfor moving said shafts horizontally through said mineral, a rst circularcutting means mounted at each end of said vertically mounted shaft, asecond circular cutting means mounted at one end of said horizontallymounted shaft, a multiplicity of cutting members provided on theperiphery of said 'first and second circular cutting means, said cuttingmembers having a hardened cutting surface, at least a portion of whichis substantially circumferential about said circular cutting means, saidcutting means being in juxta-position so as to cut two horizontal andone vertical cut of mineral, milling means provided on said horizontalshaft along at least that portion of said shaft which in use, enters amineral face so as to cut therethrough during movement of the apparatusrelative to the mineral face to afford a passage through such mineralfor the said shaft during cutting a common electrical motor beingprovided coupled to the horizontal shaft, gearing between the horizontalshaft and the vertical shaft whereby said electrical motor is adapted todrive said vertical shaft through said horizontal shaft.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said milling FOREIGN PATENTSmeans comprises a plurality of milling cutters, the cutting 18 16 8 18 tlength of each cutter being vless than the cutting length of 684:33()12% 92g gig; glig the circular cutting means mounted on the end of saidD 5 ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner References Cited horizontalshaft.

UNITED STATES PATENTS U.S. CI. X.R.

701,979 6/ 1902 Wisseman 299--53 299-53 86 3,337,269 8/ 1967 Mennekes etal. 299-81 X gg@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIONPatent No. 3,517 967 Dated June 30 l970 Invent0r s T. G. Clarke et 8l Itis certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 27, change "plan" to "side" Column 2, line 29, change"side" to "plan". Column 4, line 27, change "whtch" to "which".

EAL) Attest: mlm l, :m- Edwua n, um I* onnissionor or Patents Offical

